A Lone Duet
by The-Lady-Isis
Summary: Two songfics, both in Bruce's POV, about the beginning and the end of his relationship with Diana. Part one is optimistic, part two angsty. I don't own anything.
1. She Said

**A/N: This song is _She Said_ by Take That, and I don't own this song or the characters. I hope you enjoy this - it's the first of two. I'd like to thank Daisy Jane for the beta, she's amazing. **

**She Said**

"You know... we never did get to finish our dance."

_My love _

_Was filled with trouble_

_With indecision_

_Therapy and pain_

Our- Shit.

She knows. She's worked it out. Though when and how are going to take some investigating. The point is she _knows_. Just great. Not only the boyscout, but the warrior princess too. Fabulous.

Still, I can't help but feel a little admiration. Diana, at least, figured it out by herself. Wisdom of Athena indeed. I'm still not happy about it. It's not a worst-case scenario. She won't go to the papers. In fact I'm even a little proud of her. I won't tell her that, but still.

The standard response rolls off my tongue. There's still a chance she's bluffing. "I don't know _what _you're talking about."

_You know that my love_

_It was going nowhere_

_It would have driven any normal man insane_

Instead of her smirk faltering, it gets a little wider. Damn it. Not bluffing then.

"If you say so," she says teasingly.

I do say so - but I'm not convincing either one of us. She puts her arm through mine, and my hand almost comes up to take hers. I quash the urge. "But you're still taking me dancing," she warns playfully.

_Oh, but then she said she wanted to dance_

_She said she wanted to move_

_She said she wanted a good time_

_Girl, I think I love you_

I am? _That'll be the day_, I scoff inwardly. The Batman doing the rumba? Not a dignified image. So why do I want to? I want to go, "Okay" and whisk her off to Rio. I _want _to do a Bruce Wayne, though the idea of treating Diana as I treat other women... no way. Even the idea makes me disgusted with myself - more than usual.

I don't take her dancing that night. I don't take her dancing for the next week. But all the time, I'm thinking about it. I don't want to be thinking about it. I don't dance with women, women dance with _me_. I'm the pursued, not the pursuer, no matter how the tabloids report it. The last time I actively went after a woman was Selina - and that had ended disastrously. I haven't seen her since she left the country. She's in Beijing at the moment, plundering whatever treasures of the Forbidden City she can lay her hands on. It's not my city; it's not my problem.

_My love_

_As bad as fast food_

_As low as deuces _

_In a gambler's hand. _

But since her I've never felt more than a passing interest in any woman. With Diana I have... could it be conceivably called a crush? Whatever it is, it spells trouble. Trouble for me, but most especially for her.

This is a bad idea. I know it is, even the part of me that _wants _to do this knows it is a bad idea. We dance; we get closer, physically and spiritually. The closer she gets, the more she sees, and the more she sees the more dangerous it gets. In addition, it's impractical. Officially we've met once - and why would Wonder Woman let a notorious pig like me anywhere near her again?

_You know that my love_

_Was one long hangover_

_Ain't got no houses or no money or no land_

I've already thought of that, of course. When we met I was charming, I was smooth and intriguing. Wonder Woman is unfamiliar with this world still; no one thinks she reads _National Inquirer. _Naturally she'd want to know more.

And with the practicalities all worked out, there's no objection the Bat can throw up that I can't shoot down again. I'm actually taking her dancing.

There's already a suitable dress hanging in Diana's closet, with a note telling her when and where to meet me on the Earth's surface. I left a rose, as well. The color reminded me of her lips, and the petals were baby-skin soft. I mentally shake myself. I should not be imagining what Diana's lips look and would feel like.

_Oh but then she said she wanted to dance_

_She said she wanted to move_

_She said she wanted a good time_

_Girl, I think I love you_

But here I am, waiting in Buenos Aires in my hotel for the knock on the door. When it comes, my heart skips a beat. It shouldn't. I cross to the door and open it. It takes most of my willpower to stop my jaw falling open.

She's beautiful. I knew that before, but now she's looking beautiful for _me_. The dress looks as incredible on her as I knew it would; a deep red, coming down to her knees with a slit up one side. She's holding the rose in her hand.

"Hello," she says uncertainly.

"You look..." What's the appropriate word? I decide to go with the truth. "...stunning."

_Shake it_

_Everybody, now shake it_

_Everybody, just step to the right _

_Jump up turn around _

_And shake it_

She smiles, relaxing again. "Thank you."

"But I think..." I take the rose from her, break off the top two inches, "this would look better here." I tuck the flower behind her ear, the splash of scarlet against the ebony fall of her hair a perfect match.

She blushes. It's completely adorable. She recovers quickly. "Ready?"

I nod, and offer my arm.

_Everybody, now boogie_

_Everybody, now boogie_

_Everybody put your hands in the air_

_Turn around _

_Let's boogie_

And we go dancing.

As I expected - but had no evidence for believing - she exudes elegance even through complicated Latin dances that she's never learned the steps for. The tango, the salsa, the rumba. During the Argentine tango I have to bite my lip to restrain the urge to trail kisses all the way along her neck. I dip her, and she comes back up again with an expression half-fearful, half-aroused. I don't think she knows the arousal is there.

_Oh, my life_

_Was filled with trouble_

_With indecision_

_Therapy and pain_

_You know that my life_

_It was going nowhere_

_It would have driven any normal man insane_

Whatever my own face shows, it makes her uncertain. She tries to take a step back, but her leg is still tangled with mine. She stumbles, and though she probably wouldn't have fallen, it's enough to make me catch her anyway. In the middle of the dance floor we stop, both of us breathing hard, though not from exertion.

In the back of my mind, the Bat pops up again. _This is _why _this was a bad idea..._

Diana, though, far from the trepidation of a second ago, now looks at me with a mischievous gleam in her sapphire gaze. Then she laughs.

_Oh, but then she said she wanted to dance_

_She said she wanted to move_

_She said she wanted a good time_

_Girl, I think I love you_

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"I was just thinking," she murmurs, "what's the term? My knight in...?"

"Shining armour," I supply, the corner of my mouth curling up involuntarily.

"Shining armour," she nods vaguely. Then she smiles. "I like my knights in..." she runs the back of her hand over my jaw-line, "dark armour."

_She said she wanted to dance_

_She said she wanted to move_

_She said she wanted a good time_

_Girl, I think I love you._

_

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**A/N: Review please!**


	2. You Don't Know Me

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I used the Michael Bublé version of this song - I just think he sings it so beautifully, and it makes me cry every time I listen to it. It just screams **_**Bruce **_**to me. Another round of applause for Daisy Jane too! Enjoy!**

**You Don't Know Me**

"Mr. Wayne, I believe you've met our guest of honor?"

_You give your hand to me_

_Then you say hello_

_I can hardly speak_

_My heart is beating so_

_And anyone can tell_

_You think you know me well_

_But you don't know me_

My heart leaps, but I don't show it. It's easy now to hide - I've long given up trying to stop the jump in my pulse. We've been around each other for years, and it still happens every time she steps into the room.

I turn with the normal grin plastered on my face. "On occasion." I extend my hand; Wonder Woman shakes it politely.

"How are you, Mr. Wayne?"

"Can't complain. And your _wonderful_ self?" I wink.

_And anyone can tell_

_You think you know me well_

_But you don't know me_

If she only knew how true that was. Of course the fact that she's totally unaware of it is the exact reason she is so perfect. Forget the powers. Throw the super strength overboard, the flight out of the window. She doesn't need any of them. She just needs what makes her Diana. The ready smile, the innate kindness, the complete lack of selfish impulse. She _is _Wonder Woman. She would still be Wonder Woman without the uniform.

She takes her hand from mine. I miss its warmth immediately. "I'm well, thank you."

_No you don't know the one_

_Who dreams of you at night_

_And longs to kiss your lips_

_And longs to hold you tight_

Her voice is coolly formal. We don't have a relationship outside of functions like this. Bruce Wayne and Diana of Themyscira have met no more than half a dozen times, know almost nothing of the other. And the worst thing is that's true.

She doesn't know me, and we don't have a relationship outside of here and now.

_Oh, I'm just a friend_

_That's all I've ever been_

'_Cause you don't know me_

We used to. We used to be friends, we used to allow the other to see inside us. I let her see more of me than anyone before her had, just because I was curious. At which point would the light in her decide it couldn't handle the shadow in me? When would she turn away in disgust from what I am? Or, worse, would be run away? Would _I _be the only one to make her cower in fear?

I wasn't. Instead she looked deeper and she found more than I bargained for.

_For I never knew _

_The art of making love_

_Though my heart aches_

_With love for you_

The familiar words slip from my tongue. "Enjoying yourself so far?"

It started as a game. The same words, the same responses. Testing and teasing one another. But it has been a long time since it was a game, and now the words taste bitter on my tongue. It's no longer a game. It's a parody. Bathos. The reason for that is chatting with Rebecca Saunders, the organizer of this event. Thomas Andrew Tresser. Nemesis. Vigilante turned government agent.

Diana's fiancé.

_Afraid and shy _

_I let my chance go by_

_The chance that you might love me too_

It's not his fault Diana and I aren't together. It's mine. Because when she looked, and found something she actually _wanted_... I ran. She turned to me on a rooftop, extended an offer. Not much, just a date. I backed off. I panicked and gave her excuses why we couldn't be together without the reason. The reason being... sooner or later she would find something she was repulsed by. And if she was mine, I would lose her to myself.

So instead I chose to lose her to Tom Tresser.

_You give your hand to me_

_And then you say goodbye _

_I watch you walk away_

_Beside the lucky guy_

The wedding day is only a few weeks away now. I notice, through the pounding of my own heart, that the strings have started up. This could be - probably will be - the last time I ever hold her in my arms.

So I take her hand again. "Dance?"

It's more the Bat than anything, and to anyone watching it would have revealed us to be dangerously intimate. She looks at me strangely, but does as I ask. Allows me to pull her onto the dance floor, and then we dance. It's a very slow song, for which I am grateful. It allows me to hold her close, breathe in her scent and pretend that she still knows me. Pretend that I took that opportunity on the roof, or the second of that night on the Watchtower. Pretend that I told her long ago how in love with her I am.

I didn't. I was too afraid.

_You'll never know_

_The one who loves you so_

_Well you don't know me_

So now we arrive at this moment. This moment, two complete strangers dancing. I would dearly love it if her current relationship was a rebound. If the wounds I inflicted on her heart had caused her to run into his embrace. But that would be a lie. There was nothing violent about the way our almost-relationship ended. She simply... moved on.

This moment is all I have - and it is fake. It ends all too soon. Her husband-to-be cuts in, and I surrender her hand to him with a charming, debonair gesture. Because I've seen the smile on Diana's face. It's not a smile she's ever directed at me.

_You give your hand to me, baby_

_Then you say goodbye_

_I watch you walk away_

_Beside the lucky guy_

Now she's in love, and she's at peace. She's comfortable. More than all that - she's happy. So I let her go. Watch her walk away with the luckiest guy in the world. Someone should really tell him that. It won't be me - I don't deserve that right.

Diana deserves someone she knows inside and out.

_No, no, you'll never know_

_The one who loves you so_

_Well, you don't know me_

And that's not me.

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**A/N: Well I did warn you it would be angsty. Review please! **


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